


Chat Nip

by Neeko96



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrinette, Cat Nip, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Slightly crack, ladrien, love square
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26506282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neeko96/pseuds/Neeko96
Summary: After finishing a regular night patrol Chat suddenly acts weird. He starts acting hyper and even more forward in his advances. Hoping it was just a late night Marinette is able to get home, but then at school the next day Adrien suddenly starts acting strange too. (Rated for suggestive cat cuddles)
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 29
Kudos: 262





	1. Ladynoir

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as a crack idea on my FF.net account. I think I failed at the crack part since it grew plot out of nowhere, but it's still amusing I like to think. Be warned! There will be slightly provocative cat cuddles.=^-^=

It was just a typical patrol... If you don't count Ladybug's uncharacteristic slip up as she headed back to Eiffel Tower. It was late, and so as per usual, the citizens of Paris were mostly indoors. Mostly being the keyword. Ladybug took a side street behind a pet store, and found out quickly she was a little too close to the street when she collided with a pile of boxes. "Whoa!? What the heck?" A clerk called as she ran up to the merchandise in worry.

Ladybug sat up in a slight daze with her yo-yo wrapped loosely around her arms. "Ouch..."

"Ladybug? What happened? An Akuma attack?" The clerk asked looking around in worry.

Ladybug shook it off and stood up with a sheepish expression. "No, sorry, don't worry. Just a little... miscalculation with my yo-yo. Sorry about your boxes." She rolled up her weapon and began to help pick them up.

"Oh... I suppose that can happen to anyone..." The clerk looked confused, but heroes weren't perfect. "Oh no!" She cried when she noticed one of the boxes was torn. A few small fish shaped pillows were falling out as Ladybug picked it up.

"I'm so sorry!" The heroine started to pick them up before realizing she'd stepped on one. It was torn open at the tail and she slumped her shoulders. "I broke it..."

The clerk finished getting the rest and took a breath of relief. "That's fine, it's just one. Keep it."

Ladybug furrowed her brow. "But I didn't pay for it."

The clerk waved it off. "No worries, these are bargain bin cat toys. Besides, maybe you'll think twice about swinging so haphazardly through the streets at night from now on." She teased now feeling the whole situation was hilarious. She'd never met Ladybug or Chat Noir, but this encounter makes them feel more like everyone else. An interesting change to an otherwise boring night of inventory.

"Uh.. yeah sorry." Ladybug apologized again and helped finish bringing all the boxes inside. When she finally left she still felt so embarrassed she'd made such a mistake. It was normal for Marinette, but for Ladybug it was just embarrassing.

"Hey, Bugaboo, what was the hold up?" Chat asked with a wave when she finally arrived.

Ladybug almost tripped at the question and Chat caught her hand. "Uh, sorry... off night. I had a bit of an accident." She admitted with her left hand behind her head.

Chat chuckled as he lifted her right hand to his lips to kiss her knuckles. "It happens to everyone, Milady. I'm just happy you're not hurt..." He trailed off just before he kissed her hand.

"Uh..." Ladybug found his pause strange and pulled her hand away. "Anyway, my patrol was quiet, what about yours?"

Chat looked back up to her with a strange smirk on his face. "Oh, nothing that could compare to seeing you." He leaned in closer to her causing her to step back.

"Chat?" He didn't answer as he approached again. "Something wrong? I mean if nothing happened then we should-"

"Take some time for ourselves?" He asked as he took her hand again. He sprung around her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Exactly what I was thinking, Milady." He then began to purr much to Ladybug's shock. Chat always flirted with her, but this was way too much.

She pulled herself free and prepared to swing home. "Alright, Chat Noir, that's enough. I need to get home."

Chat leaped after her, and beat her to her first rooftop with a grin. "Come on, Bugaboo, can't we just snuggle?" He asked looking a little too eager even for Chat. He barred her from leaping off again and wrapped his claws around her hips.

She missed her footing trying to turn and fell to the floor with him still holding her tightly. "Chat!?"

"I love you, Bugaboo." He cooed as his purring started up again and he rubbed his face into her stomach.

She froze at the intimate action and panic slowly settled in. "S-settle down, Kitty... You're not acting like yourself."

"But I've never felt so good in my life, Ladybug, and you smell so nice... warm..." He purred.

Now she could feel his purring vibrating her stomach which only made the situation that much worse as she felt her own cheeks burn. "C-chat Noir!" She yelped when he kissed her navel. She began pushing his head away from her. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but snap out of it!" She demanded before realizing her mistake. Instead of pushing him away, she merely pushed him lower where his purring would be an even worse problem. "Gah-" She gasped and curled up reflexively. This had the bonus effect of actually helping her get out of his arms. She kicked him away still in a panic and he clutched his gut.

"Ugh... Milady...?" He coughed and pushed himself up on one hand. "Huh?" He looked back over to her and she had scooted as far as she could without leaving the rooftop. "What's wrong, Ladybug?" He seemed confused, the excitement from moments before suddenly gone. "And why'd you kick me?"

"C-chat Noir? Are you feeling okay now?" She asked as she got to her knees.

"What do you mean? Were we doing something just now? I thought we met up at the Eiffel Tower." He found a strange kind of fuzz in his mind over what he was doing just now. He remembered flirting at the tower, but when did they get to this roof?

"We did, Kitty... you don't remember?" Ladybug stood up and took a good look at her partner. She let out a hand to help him up.

"Remember... getting here?" He asked taking the gesture. "Not really. I guess I must've spaced out or something." He just couldn't place what he was doing, but it bothered him. "What?" Ladybug was giving him a worried expression. "Did something happen?" He asked feeling something was bothering her. He placed a hand on her shoulder which made her jump from the sudden contact.

"N-no! Uh, nothing, Kitty." She countered taking his hand from her. "You're probably just tired. I know I am." She grinned a little too much. "Night, Bug out!" She leaped for home without waiting for his response.

Chat took another look around while rubbing the back of his head. "I guess..." Though he didn't really feel tired.

* * *

When he got back to his room he released his transformation and Plagg darted for his sock bed without even asking for cheese. "Huh? Plagg? Aren't you hungry?" The blonde inquired at his kwami's peculiar actions.

Plagg groaned in response. "Uh... N-no! I'm tired. I'll eat later!" He declared further stoking Adrien's suspicions.

"Plagg? Come on, what's wrong. You're acting weird... just like Ladybug before."

"Ladybug? I don't know anything I swear!" He denied suspiciously.

Adrien pulled up the sock and let the black creature fall out. "Plagg, out with it. You know why Ladybug was acting weird don't you?" He demanded with a stern tone.

Plagg covered his eyes. "Come on, Adrien, nothing uh... really bad happened." He tried to convince only making Adrien even more suspicious.

The teen crossed his arms. "You'll tell me anyway if you want any Camembert tonight."

Plagg gasped at the threat and squirmed as he wrestled with his desire to save his pride or eat good cheese. "Aww... Okay!" He finally relented after only half a minute. "Alright, I'll tell you, but please don't be mad." He floated up looking mortified. "To tell you the truth, there have been a few others who've had my miraculous that had this happen." He scratched the side of his face and looked away. "We kinda synced up a little more than was normal... See it sometimes happens when my holder's emotions and my own match up... a little too much. It's really only a problem when it comes to anger since I'm, ya'know, a being of destruction. This time was... uh... different..."

Adrien raised a curious brow. "Different how?"

Plagg was really trying to occupy his paws while his eyes were anywhere but Adrien. "Well I'm a cat, and sometimes I get excited about cat things like... catnip?" He admitted with a sheepish smile.

Adrien still didn't quite understand what this had to do with Ladybug. "So? How does catnip explain why Ladybug was acting so weird?"

Plagg took a deep breath before letting it all out. "Because catnip gets me excited, and then you were excited to see Ladybug...

...andyoukindagotreallytouchyandmaybesortofrubbedyourfacealloverhereventhoughshereallywantedyoutostop!" He finished with a pant.

Adrien took a moment to try and figure out what all he said. It was all jumbled together at the end, but he was pretty sure he heard something about rubbing... Oh crap! "Plagg... please tell me I wasn't rubbing up against her like some cat in heat!" He had his hands in his hair at the horror of it all.

"Well... kinda?" Plagg chuckled sheepishly.

Adrien instantly slammed his head to the nearby wall. "You have to be kidding me! It's no wonder she was looking at me like that! She must've thought I was trying to...ugh.." He didn't even want to say it. The thought alone made him feel like a total creep. Not that he didn't have a fantasy or two, he was a teenager after all, but not this! This was so wrong!

"Calm down, Adrien. I'm sure you can explain it to Ladybug next time. If you just mention the catnip thing her kwami will know and back you up."

"If she'll even ever speak to me again." The boy groaned back. She'd already snapped at him a few times over the years for less... much less.

"Come on, kid, there's a bright side to this. The sync will probably be finished by tomorrow."

Adrien paused before turning to Plagg with a dead expression. "You mean we're still synced? I'm not even transformed anymore!"

Plagg gave a shrug. "It never ends in under a day. It takes a lot of time for a kwami to be able to sync with their holder like that even by accident. Of course it wouldn't go away so quickly. It takes about a day... usually."

"How long could it take?" Adrien ground out through his teeth.

"Uh... maybe a week?" The kwami revealed and was met with an instant groan of hopelessness. "But like I said, it's all based on time. We've only been together a couple of years. It won't take more than a day... or two for it to end... maybe three. Tops..." Plagg trailed off at the end, not really sure if he was helping things.

Adrien, by this point, wasn't listening anymore. The idea of being synced up with Plagg for a whole week terrified him, not because of the destructive potential, but because of possibly hurting his lady. What would she think of him if anything... more... ever happened? He couldn't fight the blush that came to his face when he thought of what that might entail. It was quickly followed by shame when he remembered she still didn't see him that way. If more did happen then he'd never be able to look his lady in the eye ever again, if she could even bare to see him.

* * *

Marinette stayed curled under her blankets trying her hardest to get the whole encounter out of her mind. Tikki sat nearby hoping to comfort her holder as best she could, but at this point could only do the bare minimum since she wasn't completely sure of what happened. Sure, she had a few ideas, but nothing concrete until she spoke with Plagg. When it came to her holder's current condition, however, it also didn't help that her emotional processor was about as fast as Dial up internet; if they even had that anywhere anymore. Since arriving back home she couldn't even string together syllables, let alone words.


	2. Adrinette

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Adrinette, and Plagg makes a boo-boo.=^-^=

The next morning Marinette growled at the clock when her alarm went off. She hadn't gotten much sleep because of that incident with Chat Noir. Then when she did sleep... it wasn't exactly restful. She was able to get going ahead of her normal time only because she'd been so restless all night. As she entered the school she noted it was very quiet. Taking a quick glance at her phone showed her that she was very early. It would probably be twenty minutes or so before everyone else showed up. "At least I'm not late for once." She groaned. Not that it was much of a consolation prize.

She opened her locker and Tikki popped out to join her since she was alone. "You really need to get your mind off of it, Marinette. I'm sure there's a good reason Chat acted like that. You know he'd never do something to hurt you on purpose." The kwami consoled.

"I know but," She sighed. "I guess I was more shocked than anything. I froze up when he grabbed me, just like my civilian self would."

Tikki chuckled. "You know you're still a teenage girl even with the mask. When an attractive guy hugs you like that, you're going to have a certain... response." She gave Marinette a knowing grin which the girl frowned at.

"That's not funny, Tikki." The red kwami begged to differ if only because she knew the whole situation. "I-I like Adrien so... I can't be like that with Chat."

Tikki rolled her eyes. "Maybe you wouldn't have to worry about stuff like this if you just fessed up. I mean, you don't have nearly as many problems forming complete sentences around him anymore. Tell him how you feel, and then you can tell Chat Noir you're taken. That'll definitely give him a solid reason not to hold out hope for you." Since he'll already have you of course. Tikki giggled at her thought.

"You know it's not that simple, Tikki. Yes I can talk to him, but I go right back to stuttered words and jumbled verbs when I talk to him about anything to do with my crush." Which was usually two ambiguous words followed by the most random tangent she could think of to get away from the topic.

Tikki sighed again. "Okay, Marinette, but you really need to get yourself together about this. Anyway, is that little fish pillow for me?" She asked pointing to Marinette's signature purse.

"Pillow?" She opened her purse and saw the torn cat toy from the night before. "Oh, right this." She pulled it out and squeezed it gently in her hand a few times. It was slightly spongy with something crinkling inside as well. She then ran her thumb over the torn seem at the tail and sighed. "Not really, but you can use it for one. If you like it, maybe I'll sow it back up and you'll have something soft to sleep on when you're stuck in there."

Marinette gave her a smile that Tikki matched. "I would love it, Marinette, thank you." She then hugged her chosen and rubbed her face around the neckline of her shirt. The cute moment ended abruptly when she heard someone else enter the locker room. She peeked around the door of her locker to spy Adrien of all people arriving bright and early.

"Oh, morning, Marinette. I didn't think anyone else would be at school yet." He greeted while going straight to his own locker.

"Right, morning, Adrien. I surprised myself if I'm being honest." She pushed the pillow back in her bag and Tikki popped back in as well. She then closed her locker to wave at him.

"I'm kind of in the same boat." He admitted and she noticed he looked a little tired. "I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night."

"Did something happen?" She asked with minor worry. She noted his face flushed slightly as his eyes turned away.

"Kind of, but it's nothing to worry about." He then noticed she didn't look too rested herself. "What about you?" It wasn't the first time they'd notice the other looked tired. Of course neither knew the other was doing late night patrols.

"I was... stuck on a design." She quickly covered. "I just couldn't go to sleep until I thought of how to make it work." She then playfully punched her own head. "I was just being stubborn." She ended with a laugh as she moved to approach. "Anyway, I'll see you in the class room."

Adrien waved as she walked past but froze the moment she did. "Marinette?"

She stopped and turned to him curiously. He sounded confused. "Something wrong Adrien?" He placed a hand on his forehead as if he were dizzy and she rushed back to him. "Adrien?" She moved to take his own hand away, and the moment she did, she felt the whole world spin. In a split second she found herself pinned inside his locker while Adrien stared at her with the loopiest grin she didn't even think him capable of. "A-adrien?"

He took her right hand in his and held it to his face with a droopy grin. "Wow, Marinette. Your hands are so soft. They smell nice... and warm."

A strange sense of Déjà-vu smacked her in the face, but she was too shocked to think of why. Adrien Agreste was rubbing her hand on his face while pinning her in his locker. That went on for a good minute or two before Marinette's processing power came back up and she tried to reason with him. "A-adrien, w-what are you d-doing?" She meeked out as best as she could.

His response was a lopsided smile as he leaned in closer to her. Her brain short circuited again when he started to rub his face just above her breasts. "You're so nice... I love this, Marinette..." He mumbled.

She couldn't decide if she should be happy or terrified. On one hand, Adrien Agreste, was saying he loved touching her. On the other hand... he was touching her and acting weird! She snapped back to the real world when she felt a strange vibration against her collar bones. Was Adrien... Was he purring!? What the hell!? "A-adrien, uh... w-what's going on?"

"So soft... nice..." Was all he could say and she was almost ready to push him away even if she did secretly love having him leaning on her like this.

That dream shattered as a bizarre realization hit. She could hear more than one purring sound. When she looked down, tucked just under Adrien's chin, she saw a little black ball... with ears. "What... What's that?"

"Plagg likes you too, Marinette..." Adrien drooled as the little black creature rubbed his cheek in time with the young blonde.

"Marinette! Stop them!" Tikki finally intervened, popping out from her hiding place. She flew around to see Plagg had joined his chosen in the bizarre action.

"Tikki!?" Marinette tried to get her away so Adrien wouldn't see her, but Plagg noticed first.

He tackled her in midair, and began to rub himself all over her just like Adrien was doing to Marinette. "Oh, Sugar Cube, you smell nice... and you're so warm." His purring was almost louder than Adrien's considering the size difference, and Marinette didn't have the brain power to contemplate more on that side note. She suddenly pushed Adrien back with whatever strength she could muster, and swiped Tikki from the air away from her clingy counterpart.

Adrien looked dazed as he stumbled back from the force. She was glad she hadn't pushed him hard enough to make him fall. She was just so... confused right now. She looked between a dazed Adrien and a floating dazed Plagg. She knew that Kwami. It belonged to Chat Noir, and Chat Noir had given her the look Adrien was giving her right now. "N-no way..." She held her hands to her mouth and dashed out of the room as soon as it came to her. It was way too early for stuff like this! Her brain couldn't process all of this! She was already running on shorted circuits because of Chat Noir last night, and now Adrien...

The poor dazed model wasn't fairing much better as the fuzzy feeling subsided and the horror of what he just did sank in. Plagg cursed as he snapped out of his stupor. "Shit!? She's gonna kill me!" He started banging his little head on the door to Adrien's locker.

Adrien was doing something similar only to the back of his locker. "Oh shit, shit, shit! I can't believe I did that to Marinette! What the hell is wrong with me!?" He groaned, ashamed on how he'd been all over her. He couldn't remember everything. Most of it was still a haze, and he could almost swear he heard another voice. He did know one thing though, he'd just done something unforgivable to one of his best friends. The sweet, kind, creative, always ready to help Marinette. At the sound of more voices Plagg jumped into the teen's bag and Adrien reluctantly headed for the classroom.

* * *

About halfway through class Tikki deemed the students distracted enough that she could dash to Adrien's bag without worrying about being caught. He was backed up against the boy's wallet as the red Kwami stared him down. "What the hell got into you!?" She whisper yelled being sure to not be heard out of the bag.

Plagg held both hands up in defense. "It's not what you think ,Sugar Cube! I swear I didn't mean to do that. The kid too."

Tikki crossed her arms with a stern expression. "Start explaining, Plagg! Right now!"

The black Kwami rubbed his head sheepishly. "You remember how I get around catnip right?"

Tikki went from angry to aghast then back to angry. "You promised me you would stay away from it! You know what happens to you when you get too excited!"

Plagg nodded with a light blush. "I know, I know. I really don't know where we found it. I found a piece of it in the kid's hair last night when he was about to go to bed." He saw her glare. "And I got rid of it." He then sighed. "I don't know how it happened again. Maybe there was some more in Adrien's locker?"

Tikki shook her head. "Did you tell Adrien? You've obviously over synced with him if he's doing it too."

Plagg nodded. "Yeah, I told him last night of course. He was really worried about how Ladybug would see him after that. I told him you would understand it wasn't his fault... or mine... this time." He added at the end.

Tikki let out a huff. "I hope Marinette takes it okay. By the way, she saw you before. I think she knows Adrien's Chat Noir, or at the very least, she will know. The dots won't be hard to connect."

Plagg nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but at least we won't have the square anymore?"

Tikki shot him an irritated look. "Plagg, can you honestly say this was a good way for them to realize their feelings for each other?"

Plagg rubbed his chin. "Well, don't teenagers like admitting their feelings while all tangled up together?" He added a suggestive eye brow wiggle.

Tikki merely rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless..."


	3. Ladrien

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tikki explains things, and then Ladrien happens.=^-^=

Adrien felt the tight knot of guilt twisting in his gut all day. Any time their eyes met and she flinched and turned away. He was glad to get away for lunch hour, but the lump came back full force as soon as he saw her again in class. "I told you, Adrien, it wasn't your fault." Plagg whispered from his bag as he made his way out of the building after fencing practice.

"That's not the point, Plagg. Marinette doesn't know about you or any of this..." He lamented at how she must hate him. Plagg fought the urge to tell him otherwise, but Tikki was already pissed at him as it was. Adrien got in his car and his driver sped off. "I need to do something, Plagg." He whispered thinking of some way to fix things, or maybe just make her understand he wasn't a creep.

"You could always try sending her cheese." He suggested though Adrien simply rolled his eyes at that. That's when he decided to go for broke. Marinette's friendship was too important to leave like this for any longer than he did. He needed to man up and apologize at the very least. After directing his driver to take him to Marinette's under threat of bolting from the car otherwise, he steeled himself for how he would do this. Hopefully he'd at least be able to apologize in person.

* * *

Marinette sat at her desk with a needle and thread in hand while Tikki floated nearby to explain things to her. "This syncing can happen sometimes even with me. If you remember those times when you're lucky charm had more to it than just what you needed like with the laser pointer for Maldictator. It's usually because of a dire creative need that's stronger than normal. It's because you and me were feeling the same strong emotion together." She elaborated as her chosen worked on sewing the fish pillow.

"So he's... reacting to catnip?"

Tikki nodded. "But he's not actually a cat." She tried to reason. "And he wasn't transformed in the locker room."

"I know, but that's not the point. When Adrien is Chat Noir he has a lot of cat qualities like his sensitive hearing and night vision. This is part of Plagg's powers too, and Plagg is a cat Kwami. Because Chat Noir was exposed to the catnip he reacted. He's continuing to react because at that time he synced up with Plagg. Once it wears off, catnip won't have that effect on him anymore." She explained back at her confusion.

Marinette looked down at the floor. Part of her knew it was something, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed. Of course Adrien wouldn't do it on purpose... but Chat Noir- Her thought was broken by a knock at her door.

She turned to see her mom giving her a strange grin. "Hey, Marinette. Adrien came to talk to you. He said it was very important."

The girl froze up for a split second at the mention. "A-adrien?"

"Uh-huh, I'll just let him up." Before Marinette could say anything to the contrary, Adrien's head poked up from the ladder. Tikki had long since hid away, and Marinette scrambled to put the fish pillow from her lap into a drawer so she wouldn't have to explain having a cat, but also not having a cat.

"Hey, Marinette? I understand if you don't want to, but I really want to talk to you about this morning. Can I come up?"

Marinette couldn't control the blush that erupted when he started up the ladder. She kept remembering that dopey gaze from that morning and even **that** made him look gorgeous. At the moment his expression was more apologetic with that underlying smile that showed his kind nature. "O-of course, Adrien."

He nodded as he closed the hatch and found a seat giving her plenty of space. "Um... I really wanted to apologize, Marinette..." He started as he rubbed the back of his neck. She took note of the light blush on his cheeks. "I really don't know what came over me, but I know nothing can excuse that behavior. Your friendship means the world to me, and I don't want to do anything that could mess that up... though this probably did. I know it won't be easy, and it'll take some time, but please find it in your heart to forgive me." He pleaded with the most sincere tone she'd ever heard from him.

Marinette blushed and turned her gaze away. "I... Of course, Adrien."

His eyes brightened but worry was still there. "R-really?"

She nodded. "I-I figured something was up. You weren't r-really acting like yourself..." She trailed off hoping he wouldn't pry more. She really wanted to say he was acting like Chat was the previous night, but revealing herself didn't seem like a good idea at the moment. The silence lasted for a little over a minute before a ping was heard from Marinette's phone.

Adrien's phone chorused quickly after which usually meant one thing. "It's an Akuma Alert." Adrien read off his screen before looking from it to Marinette to the door. "I uh... I'm sorry to leave so quickly. I don't want you to think I'm ungrateful for your understanding, but my Dad..."

Marinette nodded pretty enthusiastically hoping he wouldn't catch her desperation. "Uh, right, of course. Your dad would want you home if an Akuma was running around, don't worry." She got up and gestured him along. "I wouldn't want you getting in trouble, especially after taking the time to apologize, Adrien."

He looked back at her as he approached the ladder. "Uh, cool. Thanks, Marinette... Please let me know if there's anything I can do to make up for it." He was barely able to get out as she hurried him along on his way.

She really didn't want to be so rude, but two things kept flashing through her mind. First, she was once again alone with Adrien with the distinct possibility of a repeat of that morning. If her brain didn't fry first, she'd definitely give something away. Two, since she knew Chat Noir was Adrien, then that meant that neither of them could go after the Akuma until she ended the conversation. "Calm down, Marinette." Tikki tried to council as her chosen sat on top of her door.

"Calm? I am calm, Tikki, what are you talking about?" She answered back with frantic eyes and a rushed laugh at the end.

Tikki just shook her head. "Well then it's time for Ladybug." As well as a distraction to calm her down.

* * *

Ladybug threw her miraculous ladybug into the air as she signaled the end of the Akuma battle. The victim had transformed into Postmaster and started pasting citizens to the streets with giant postage stamps. Considering how the postal workers can be treated, there were a number of possible reasons as to the cause of his Akumatization. In the end it didn't matter, what did, was that Chat made the fight just a little bit harder when he used his Cataclysm too early. While it was true that he'd tried to go for the Mailbag like Ladybug had told him, he didn't wait for her to get into place, and thus made a big mess of things when he missed. "My bad, Ladybug..." He apologized with his staff slung over his shoulders.

"It's fine, Chat, these things happen. You thought you had an opportunity."

Chat Noir chuckled sheepishly as his eyes turned away from her. "By the way, Ladybug, I..." He took a step closer which in turn caused Ladybug to step back. She hadn't let him within ten feet of her since they met up at the start of the fight. He let out a sigh at her action. "I-I'm really sorry, Ladybug. I really didn't mean to act like that. Apparently I-"

She held up a hand with a small smirk. "Save it, Chat, I know. My Kwami let me in on your Catnip issue."

It sounded way worse when she said it. "Ah... Yeah..." He looked away in embarrassment. "Though I don't remember ever going near catnip..." He muttered at the end before his miraculous beeped to indicate two minutes. "Oh!" He turned to her with his fist raised. "Pound it?"

She cocked her head to the side with a wary expression. It didn't last long though. She raised her fist too, and smiled. "Pound it." As they knocked their fists together Chat moved like lightning to take her hand.

He gave her a flirtatious grin as he leaned down to kiss it as he normally did. Ladybug's initial flinch didn't seem to faze the love sick kitty as he pressed his lips to her knuckles. "Until next time, Mi-" He suddenly went ridged which worried Ladybug.

This is how it started last night. "Uh, right, until next time." She tried to pull away, but in a moment she realized Chat had a vice grip on her hand. "C-chat?" She heard him inhale and then a slight purr tumbled from his throat. She was about ready to tear his face away from her hand until she took a good look at his ring. He only had one paw pad left, and it would beep any moment. Without a second thought she grabbed him around the waist with a twist of her captured hand, and swung them both away with her yo-yo. She was able to get him down a few streets so they could hide in a shaded corner of a roof before the flash went over Chat. Ladybug quickly snapped her eyes shut so she wouldn't see his identity. "C-chat, you have to change back." She nervously ordered as she felt him keep a hold of her.

It was easy to keep hold of him while she swung since he'd latched onto her so tight as he purred. He now, though, showed no signs of letting go much like before. After a reflexive step back she found herself pinned to the edge of the next building where it met the one they were on. It may have been good there was no space to fall, but she was stuck. Chat Noir was rubbing his face around her neck while his hands pawed at her waist. "Soooo nice..." He dragged out sounding high as a kite.

She heard her own miraculous beep and knew she probably only had two minutes before she changed back as well. "C-chat! I need to go!" She declared with less of a stutter than before.

Of course Chat didn't seem to understand at all. "I'll go too..." He purred as he lifted his nose to graze her jaw line.

"No... You know we have to keep our i-identities..." She trailed off with a gasp when he leaned down to rub against her chest. In the shock of the moment she opened her eyes without thinking. She was instantly greeted with a quaff of golden hair like Chat's, but more tame. He tipped his face up ever so slightly and she pushed him away like he was on fire. He fell back in a daze with Plagg drooling from his pocket. Ladybug only stared a few seconds before hearing her earrings beep again. She didn't really want to believe it before, but now there was proof. Sure Tikki had confirmed it, but now she'd seen it for all intents and purposes.

Adrien sat back on the roof in a daze not really sure how long he was out of it before reality came back to him. He scratched his head as he looked around. He was sitting on a roof which was kept well out of view from the street. The next thing he noticed was his transformation had timed out. Plagg made this obvious when he tumbled out of Adrien's pocket like he was waking up to chase after cheese. The last thing that hit him was remembering being in Ladybug's embrace. His head was still foggy, but he remembered that clearly. "Did Ladybug bring me here?" It would make sense since he was so close to transforming when the finished fighting the Akuma.

"Whoa... I have a feeling we got Catnipped again..." Plagg groaned as he shook his head of the happy buzz. "Why does something so good have to be so bad!?"

"You... y-you don't think..." Adrien trailed off. He didn't want to even think about the possibility, but he could feel it. "I... and to Ladybug... Again..." He finally huffed out as he leaned on his knees. One time was an easy accident, but twice? She probably thought he meant to do it this time.

"If you think you're in for it pal, Tikki probably thinks I'm hording the stuff again. So I caused a few earthquakes last time, big deal. It was a fault line so it was bound to happen sooner or later."

Adrien gave him a slightly curious look before shaking the image away. "Okay... So you honestly don't have any?"

Plagg look aghast at the proposed accusation. "Of course not! Believe me, I would have said so!" Adrien didn't seem to outright believe him though. "Seriously!? I'm not! On my honor as the Kwami of destruction. I'll even swear off cheese if I'm lying!" He started to beg which was very out of character especially when he swore off cheese. Plagg looked desperate.

"Okay, I get it..." The blonde thought about it as he pulled out some cheese for his kwami. "But if you don't have any, where is it? I know I don't carry around catnip though I bet it smells better than cheese." He admitted with slight annoyance.

"It smells heavenly!" Plagg drooled before swallowing the last of his snack.

"Time to do some digging then. Plagg, claws out!"


	4. Marichat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So Marichat, facepalm and a little cuddly time never hurt.=^-^=

Chat Noir sat across from a familiar bakery contemplating his decision. It was half past 11 and he really wanted to confirm his theory or debunk it, but he needed to know either way. If he couldn't find Ladybug, who was currently not picking up, he'd turn to the only other person he'd had a catnip reaction around. It was risky considering how Adrien had near attacked her that morning. If he slipped up here, she might figure him out. On the other hand, he had to see if there was some connection. Something that was triggering this since he knew he didn't have catnip on him.

With one last resolute breath he vaulted onto her balcony and took a crouching position on her railing. After placing his baton back on his back he peered inside hoping the young designer was still awake. She usually was since she was a night owl of sorts. His eyes moved to the glowing screen of her PC and then to a small lamp beside it. He still didn't spot the girl, but this meant she was awake at least. Now all he had to do was wait to get her attention... He spotted her two seconds later coming up her steps while drying her hair. The blush that crept to his cheeks couldn't really be helped. While he had run around town while she was in her PJs seeing her now having just got out of the shower? Whole different vibe. He quickly moved to tap on her window before she noticed him leering like a creep. Bad enough Ladybug probably thought he was. He didn't need to add Marinette to the list.

She seemed a little more surprised than usual to see him despite the fact he'd come by on several occasions just to say hi. "Chat Noir? What are you doing here so late?" She opened the hatch and instantly pulled away from him.

He found it odd, but didn't think much on it. "I wanted to talk to you about a... problem I've been having." He admitted as he hopped down onto her bed from the window.

"Problem? Is it with Ladybug?"

He flinched at the mention and knew he was blushing. "Is it that obvious?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "You could say that."

He rubbed the back of his neck as he gave a weak smile. "Well... for the most part it is. You see I recently realized I had an issue with... a certain substance... that cats like..."

"Catnip." She stated bluntly causing the cat hero to wince from the embarrassment.

"Uh... yeah. Anyway, I honestly don't know why, or even how since I don't have any catnip, but I suddenly zone out and... I think I may have hurt Ladybug today. I can't really remember it, but I did it yesterday too." He then placed his claws over his drooped ears in shame. "She probably thinks I'm a creep, but I couldn't help it."

Marinette furrowed her brow in worry. Chat really looked torn up about how catnip was making him feel, and do. She wanted more than anything to pull him into a hug and tell him it wasn't true. The incidents may have been really hard to deal with at the time, but she knew he didn't mean to. She also couldn't help secretly loving it now that she knew who Chat really was. "I'm sure it's alright, Chat. Ladybug probably understands. You are partners after all, so she knows you."

Chat Noir looked to her with the saddest eyes she'd ever seen on him. "But... what if she doesn't... She might not ever want to see me again. I-I... I love her..." He pouted as he curled into a ball next to her desk. "I don't think I could handle her hating me." Those words hit Marinette like a speeding big rig. She could practically hear the horn blaring for her to move, but her body wouldn't budge. She didn't even notice when Chat Noir had begun to sit up and look at her curiously. "Marinette?" He questioned with a minor crack of his voice from the lingering emotion.

She instantly snapped out of it and flailed her arms out of reflex. Unintentionally, she'd knocked a familiar fish toy right smack at Chat's face. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Chat!" She reached over to pick it up quickly.

"It's okay... really..." He drawled out with an odd tone of voice.

She eyed him warily at the familiar vocal shift. With both hands held up and gripping the toy she called out to him questioningly. "Chat?"

He looked up at her with his pupils wide as dinner plates and a goofy grin crawled up his lips. "Purrrrincess..." He giggled a bit at hearing himself before he crawled over to her feet.

She was able to side step around him before she was caught and climbed up to her loft bed. "Chat Noir, calm down." She tried to order without keeping the stutter from her tone.

"But, Purrrincess... I just wanna..." He giggled again cutting himself off. Her expression paled. He was much worse than any of the times before. With an odd swiftness considering his high state, he crawled up to the bed with her and pinned her down with goofy excitement. "Oh, Purrrincess... You smell so nice, and warm..." He muttered as he took to rubbing his face on hers affectionately.

"C-Chat!" She held off screaming much to her own relief, but she wouldn't hold off for long. The shock was still getting to her. "Calm down, Marinette, calm down." She quietly chanted to herself. "He's acting on catnip..." She stated before it hit her. "But where was it?" She took a good look around as Chat moved down to rub against her stomach. It allowed her to sit up partially on one elbow. As she sat up a bit more to see better she noticed Chat's face moving off of her slightly and looked down to see him pawing at something. Something that was in her hand. "The cat toy?" He pawed at it even more as she lifted it up and his purring roared with his excitement. "Hold on..." She used her free hand to push him back as she held the toy up close. It didn't say anything about catnip, but maybe? She took a sniff and sure enough it had a feint minty smell, much like catnip would. "This toy is lined with catnip!?"

"It is?" Chat Noir purred as he rubbed against her obstructing hand. "Wow, I never thought of that..." He didn't seem to really understand what he was saying since he sounded so out of it. "You're so smart Bugaboo." He drew it out before that too morphed into a purr and he flopped down onto her lap.

Marinette couldn't help but find the whole thing ridiculous, utterly ridiculous in the words of Chloe. "So this whole time, I was the one who had the catnip." She could almost face palm if she had a free hand.

"That certainly explains a lot." Tikki declared as she floated up to the toy in her chosen's hand. "That's why Plagg was all over me back in the locker room. I was sitting on that toy all morning." She couldn't help joining in on Marinette's laugh. It was so ironic after all.

"Guess that means I owe you an apology, kitty. I got you all worked up and worried." She scratched behind his cat ears causing the cat hero to turn his head outward so she could more easily reach the other one.

"That's okay, Purrrincess Bugaboo... I still love youuuu..." Dragging once again into a purr his movements started to calm and his claws no longer made any moves to the toy. From his position, even if his eyes were open, he wouldn't have been able to see the shock on her face.

"Princess Bugaboo...?" She parroted at the strange conjoining of the nicknames of her two personas. "Of course... Milady..." He snuggled a bit on her thigh but not as vigorously as before. She turned to Tikki who was looking at them with an adoring expression. "You don't think he...?"

Tikki merely shrugged. "It's possible, Marinette. Plagg has sometimes been very observant on catnip. It usually has something to do with cheese though."

"Purrincess Bugaboo?" Chat questioned as he lifted his face from her lap to look up at her. She could see his eyes were slowly shifting back to normal, and a line of drool on his chin was drying up.

"Oh no..." She hadn't noticed he was drooling. She looked down and sure enough there was a wet blotch stretching from her waist to halfway down her thigh; moving as he did. She didn't really have much time to dwell on it though, as Chat closed in on her face with curiosity. She could tell his eyes were clearing, and he squinted as if trying to get his vision into focus. Marinette turned away out of reflex when he got too close to her face.

Only a few centimeters away she felt his calm breath. "Marinette..." She then heard silence as Chat finally felt his vision fully clear. This was definitely Marinette though he thought... He remembered calling out Bugaboo, his pet name for Ladybug. As that hit his mind he couldn't help noticing Marinette's earrings. Simple black studs. The same ones he'd seen on her countless times since they met. They could go with almost anything so it made sense since Marinette followed fashion, but... they were almost the perfect size. He reached up with his ring hand to look closer. First at his ring then back to the earrings. His ring's shape never changed, just the color. These studs were the same size and shape as... "Ladybug...?" He rubbed his thumb gently over the jewelry as he said that, and felt the pull that came with her flinch. Through his thoughts over Ladybug he hadn't realized their position, and it caught him by surprise when he did. "Oh!... Marinette, I'm so sorry!" He scooted back tripping off the loft bed in the process with a loud clatter.

She quickly moved to the edge to check on him only to find him in a rather uncomfortable position. She knew she shouldn't laugh, but just couldn't help it. "Oh, Chat!" He didn't exactly look happy about the situation, but the laughter was contagious, and soon three laughing voices erupted in the room. "Silly, kitty."

"Well, I guess silly is better than... Huh?" He stared wide eyed at the red kwami floating beside Marinette with an amused expression. "Y-You really are Ladybug!" He picked himself up and pointed with an accusing finger.

Both Marinette and Tikki traded amused expressions. "I guess he hadn't figured it out?"

"I guess." Marinette shrugged as well. The situation was just too funny at this point for either of them to care. "Yup, I'm Ladybug..." She then held up the cat toy. "I'm also accidentally the source of the catnip."

Chat furrowed his brow, confusion evident. "What? You had it? Why?"

Marinette traced a finger over the new seem. "I picked this up on my way back to the Eiffel tower yesterday. I accidentally crashed into a few boxes of pet toys. The clerk gave me this one because it was torn."

"A reminder not to be so clumsy." Tikki poked in good fun.

Marinette rolled her eyes with a smile. "Well, excuse me if I don't have the grace of a model 24/7. Story of my life." Both girls giggled while Chat Noir still looked confused.

"Uh... so..." He gestured between her and himself as if he wanted to explain something, but couldn't make the words come out.

"Yes, it's my fault you were acting so weird. Sorry, Chat."

While he was still a bit muddled by everything he just found out, he did enjoy a breath of relief that she wasn't mad. "I may not get it, but I'm just glad you don't think I'm a creep or something."

"I already told you, Chat. We're partners, and I know you'd never do anything like that." She pat his shoulder to help comfort him.

He smiled back before it morphed into a smirk. "Well, not unless you asked me too." He took her hand to kiss her knuckles flirtatiously.

A new blush bloomed on Marinette's face at the tease. She pulled her hand away with a dash of Ladybug confidence before an idea came to mind. "I told you, Chat Noir, there's a boy I like already." She almost lost her nerve to tease him when she saw his disheartened look.

"Oh... Yeah, I forgot." He sighed before looking back at her. "Well... Since I already know your identity, could I at least know his name? I kinda wanna know who this guy I can't measure up to is."

Marinette pat his head with a soft smile. "Sorry, but no, kitty. I will tell you he's in my class though. I've been trying to work up the nerve to confess to him, and I think I'll finally do it tomorrow."

Chat took a step back and rubbed his neck. "O-Oh? Well... I guess I'll get out of here-"

"Marinette?" They both heard from the hatch to her room.

"My dad? Oh, he must've heard you fall!" She whispered as she yanked him up to the loft bed and push him up through her window.

"Marinette? Are you okay? I thought I heard something fall?" Tom asked as he peeked open her door.

"Oh, sorry, Papa, I knocked a few things from my desk. I didn't mean to make you worry."

Tom gave a nod. "Alright then, good. Good night, Marinette."

"Night, papa."

* * *

Adrien arrived extra early for school the next day. Since Marinette was early the day before, he didn't want to take the chance he missed who she confessed to. "You really need to lighten up. Just because she doesn't know who you are doesn't mean she won't notice you acting weird." Plagg warned as he dug through the box in Adrien's locker. He pulled up a nice piece of Camembert just as the model slammed the door shut.

He'd heard a noise and dashed over to the door to see who it was. He was glad he'd come early when it turned out to be Marinette, and he opened the locker room door for her. "Morning, Marinette. Here early again?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I had something important to do."

He tried to look curious even though he knew what she was talking about. "You do? What is it?"

Marinette gave him a sly smile. It was curiously similar to the one she'd given him as Chat, but his curiosity for her crush outweighed everything else. She leaned in closer to whisper. "If I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone alright?"

He quickly nodded. "Of course, Marinette."

She giggled and moved closer to his ear. "There's this guy I have a crush on, and I want to confess to him today."

Adrien did his best to keep the disappointment from his face. It must not be him then. "Oh? Well... Good luck, Marinette. He's a... lucky guy." He looked away from her as he finished. This made him completely miss the look of worry she'd given him. She gripped her bag tightly. The plan was to tell him after school, but she couldn't stop herself from feeling bad. Sure it was to get back for the tease he'd given her, but maybe waiting over night was enough? She peeked around to try and see his face, but he turned away completely. "Oh sorry... I just had an off night." He tried to play off, but the obvious heartbreak in his eyes was crushing her.

"Hold on, Adrien." She grabbed his shoulder as he tried to walk around her. "Y-you'll find this funny." He doubted it, but stopped all the same. "That guy I like, when I first met him, I thought he was awful."

Adrien narrowed his eyes as he glared at the door. "Oh?" Why was he staying? The last thing he wanted to hear was about how she fell in love with some other guy.

"Yeah, but that was because I didn't know him yet. I didn't see how sweet, and kind, and sincere he was until we bumped into each other after school. It was raining, and I didn't bring an umbrella."

Adrien rolled eyes. "I suppose he gave you his and you fell madly in love with him?" He could almost laugh considering he'd done the same thing for her on his first day of school... The thought made him freeze.

"Actually yeah, but that was just the start." Marinette began again trying hard to keep her words straight. "Every day I got to know him more, and realized just how wrong that first impression was. Unfortunately, every time I've tried to tell him so far ended in failure. I could barely get a sentence out when talking to him, and usually made a fool of myself."

The blonde refused to look back at her as he thought about it. She did that all the time... at least he thought she did. "S-so... what changed? Aren't you worried you'll mess up again?" He didn't want to hope, but... What if?

"This is the funny part actually." He felt her squeeze his shoulder. "Because yesterday I realized he had this whole other side to him. He was someone I relied on more than anyone else, but I was so focused on the side of him I saw at school, that I didn't connect the two. Now that I see the whole picture, I know I can tell him how I feel, and actually..." She hesitated as she felt her tongue tie up a bit.

Adrien finally turned back to her looking almost hopeful. "Actually?" When he placed a hand on hers the blush she'd been trying to keep at bay won out.

"T-That other side I didn't know was him before now... made me love him even more."

"He must be someone really great then.." Adrien commented with a small smile forming on his lips.

Marinette saw it and giggled. "Yeah, if a bit of a flirt when he shouldn't be." She teased.

"But wouldn't that mean he likes you?" Adrien countered as he started to catch on.

The girl merely rolled her eyes. "Yes, he likes to test my patience with his puns."

Adrien shared a laugh with her before turning completely and taking her hand in both of his. "Marinette, just so I don't jump to conclusions, please tell me." He asked with a serious and longing expression on his face.

"Seriously, Kitty? Do I need to spell it meowt for you?"

Adrien's surprise was pretty short lived. He'd had a feeling she knew he was Chat by the way she was talking. The use of his pet name just made it completely clear. "That would be purrfect, Bugaboo." He then lifted her hand to kiss it.

"I suppose I asked for the pun when I used one first." She giggled before hearing him start to purr. Instead of kissing her hand he started to rub in on his face affectionately. "What?" She pulled up her hand but he merely followed and ended up wrapping his arms around her.

"So nice..." He purred even louder and Marinette simply shrugged. "Tikki?" She turned at the sound of another purr and saw her kwami cuddled up inside Adrien's reopened locker. She was petting Plagg who was laying against her looking cozy as a kitten. "Did you bring that cat toy?"

The red kwami shrugged. "Oh come on, Marinette, don't you like it?"

The girl raised an amused brow. "I thought Plagg was dangerous with catnip?"

"Sure, but since I knew he wasn't hording it I thought a little would be okay." Tikki hummed with delight before seeing the moderately scolding expression mixed with a tease. "You're not the only one who enjoys a cuddly kitty you know." She defended as Marinette rolled her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And done. My aim was to make a ridiculous situation that ended with a reveal. I think I succeeded. I used a more realistic approach of what would happen when Chat reacted to catnip without knowing. Catnip doesn't make every cat a bouncing ball of fur. It can actually be used to make cats more affectionate. The only cat I saw in person react to catnip was rubbing all over the treated cushion, pawing at it and drooling for several minutes. I took a little bit of that into account when I decided how Chat would act.


End file.
